Ultrasound Guides Tendonitis Treatment

In an article from Reuters Health, Megan Rauscher reports on a treatment for De Quervain’s Tendonitis (also known as “DeQuervain’s Disease” or “DeQuervain’s Syndrome”, which is an inflammation of the sheath or tunnel that surrounds two tendons that control movement of the thumb.

This painful Repetitive Strain Injury is often treated with a shot of cortisone, but it can be difficult to inject the cortisone in precisely the right location.

Dr. Ronald Adler, chief of the division of ultrasound and body CT at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, explains how it works:

“Ideally, you want to inject cortisone around the tendons,” Adler explained. “You don’t want to inject it in the tendon because that weakens the tendon and predisposes to further damage. We can palpate where the tendons lie but we can’t visualize them. There are a lot of other touchy areas you need to avoid as well. The benefit with ultrasound,” Adler said, “is that we have direct visualization of the tendons and tendon sheaths and we can see where the best place to position the needle is.”

According to Dr. Adler, this technique has proven to be effective for his patients.